Dark Personality, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Convicted Offenders

The complex interplay between social cognition (empathy and theory of mind), the dark core of personality, and prosociality in convicted offenders has not been thoroughly explored, yet it is deemed essential for predicting and reducing criminal behavior. We aimed to address this intersection in a sample of convicted offenders (N = 86), using the EmpaToM paradigm. The dark factor of personality was a negative predictor of helping behavior in the EmpaToM, self-reported prosociality, and self-reported empathy. It was also negatively related to EmpaToM empathy, especially its Callousness and Sadism dimensions. However, it was not significantly associated with self-reported or applied theory of mind abilities. The negative effect of the Dark Factor on the EmpaToM intention to help in emotionally negative situations was mediated by decreased empathy measured in the same task. Our results highlight the importance of considering the dark personality core together with social cognition in the development of prosocial behavior and, implicitly, in increasing the effectiveness of specifically targeted rehabilitation interventions. Also, the current findings offer preliminary evidence supporting the external and construct validity of a modified EmpaToM for a prison context.